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Friday, April 8, 2011

As much as I enjoy sharing savory recipes with y'all, I love to bake desserts. I give them away as fast as I can, so that I'm not too tempted to eat them all. Such was the case with this rich Mississippi Mud Cake with Espresso-Bourbon Glaze. I was inspired to make this cake for two reasons-- I had all the ingredients, and I was looking for an easy and quick dessert to make. You see, Craig and I were invited to dinner our friends' home. "Larry" happens to be from the South... as in Atlanta, Georgia. I offered to bring dessert, which Larry's wife accepted. Larry loves sweets as much as I do. He loved the Coconut Cake that I had previously made for him, in his Southern honor. So, what could top that, I wondered?

I had forgotten about a cookbook that I had ordered on Amazon, many moons ago, called "Cake Keeper Cakes" by Lauren Chattman. I stopped at page 120 and saw "Mississippi Mud Cake". Hmmm, bundt cakes are what I have dubbed as "Cheater Cakes", because I don't have to spend time slicing layers and frosting them. (It's also self-preservation that I don't often make layer cakes. If I did, my love of layer cakes, being my Achilles heel, would aggravate my diabetes glucose levels...which have been stable and normal, thank goodness.) Well, that sounds Southern to me! I noted the ingredients: chocolate, espresso powder, coffee, pecans, bourbon... perfect! I made one adaption in that I used Cappuccino Chips that my friend Monica (from Lick the Bowl Good) had given me, when we were roommates at the November 2010 Foodbuzz Blogger Convention.

... otherwise, you can use mini-chocolate chips.

Making the glaze, first, is what I recommend to anyone who ventures to make this recipe. The glaze...oh, the glaze! It's so good, that it could be used to drizzle on vanilla ice cream. The glaze needs more than ten minutes to set. I'd recommend at least an hour or two-- or, make it a day ahead of time. It needs to become very thick. I discovered this, the first time I poured on the glaze, which absorbed right into the cake. So, let me show you how to make this glorious glaze. You need unsalted butter, light brown sugar, instant espresso powder, heavy cream, confectioner's sugar and bourbon. (You can leave out the bourbon if you wish.)

Those of you who are new to my blog, you will find a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.)

Stir the butter, brown sugar, and espresso powder* together in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted. Whisk in the cream and bring to a simmer. Cook for 1 minute, remove from the heat, and whisk in the confectioner's sugar until sooth. *I buy my espresso powder online at King Arthur Flour.

Mix in the bourbon (I used half the amount). NOTE: I noticed that the sugar wasn't smooth, so I strained it. Problem solved! Let cool for at least an hour, so it will thicken.

To make the cake:

This is optional, but adding a cup of chopped pecans is a good thing. What Southerner doesn't love PEA-KANS? (Or is PE-CONS?

For the chocolatey goodness, you need 6 ounces of finely chopped chococolate, 2 sticks of unsalted butter, 1/2 cup of brewed espresso (I used Extra-Dark bold coffee, since that's what I drink), sugar and 1/2 cup of bourbon (I used 1/4 cup of bourbon). Combine the butter, chocolate, and espresso in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring, until the butter and chocolate are melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the granulated sugar and bourbon.

Place the eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low to break up the eggs. Beat in the chocolate mixture. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Stir in the pecans (if using) and chocolate chips (or cappuccino chips). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the came comes out clean, about 45 minutes. (NOTE: My cake was fully baked in 39 minutes, so keep a close on it!) Let the cake cook in the pan for 5 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Now, get ready to drool...

Place the cake, still on the wire rack, over a baking sheet. Slowly drizzle the glaze over the cake, letting it run down the sides of the cake and covering as much of the cake as possible. NOTE: The glaze absorbed into the cake. I decided to "speed cool" the remaining glaze in the fridge. That solved the problem, as I wanted a thicker glaze.

The glaze is my favorite part. I would make this glaze for other desserts. Trust me, it's a rockin' good recipe!

Larry understands that I have a food blog, so I cut into the cake before packing it to transport. It was very moist to the touch, which is a good sign. I recommend checking the cake early, as mine was baked about six minutes sooner than the recommended time.

Have extra glaze waiting, and maybe a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle more glaze on this (notes for next time I make this....)

With minutes to spare before we had to drive to our dinner date, I took one bite of this test slice.

Rich, dark chocolate. Very rich chocolate. Fortunate, for me, I like chocolate but I'm not crazy about a lot of chocolate. This is good, because I could refrain from eating too much cake. How did Larry like it?

He happily took my offering of the rest of the cake. How did I like this recipe? It's easy to make, and did I mention how much I love the glaze? I'd like to play around with using either oil or sour cream to add even more moisture-- like my all-time favorite chocolate cake recipe. I'm glad that I used Cappuccino chips, and I need to find more of these. Overall, this is a very good recipe. I've bookmarked a few more of Lauren Chattman's recipes in this nice little book.

This weekend, I'm going to visit as many blogs as I can. I've been MIA far too long, and I miss my blogger friends!

I have not been able to read blogs much in the past few days and this post has been sitting in my reader, taunting me every time I opened up my blog. I couldn't wait to come look at this recipe. I was not disappointed. I am a chocolate fiend and I really really want some of this cake. I must make it. Thank you for sharing!

Welcome!

Welcome to my internet kitchen. Please, sit back and relax, and watch me make delicious food and bakery recipes. Most of my recipes are simple, flavorful meals-- and a few baked treats. I focus on using fresh, seasonal ingredients and I try to avoid using boxed mixes and processed foods. I'm having fun learning how to cook like my grandmother once did-- from scratch! I hope that my step-by-step photos will inspire a timid cook to try them. Even if you're a seasoned cook, hopefully you'll learn a new tip or two.

If you have any questions,or just want to say "hello", please feel free to email me: foodiewife@gmail.com

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